ABC Picks Celebs for 'Splashing' with the Stars

By BRYAN LYNN

January 25, 2013

ABC -- which has enjoyed huge success with the long-running Dancing with the Stars -- announced Friday the first round of celebrities for its new show Splash -- who will be pitted against each other in an intense high-diving competition.

The show -- premiering March 19 at 8 p.m. on ABC -- will feature 10 non-A-list stars training and competing in regulation platform and springboard dives in front of a poolside audience. Contestants will show off their synchronized stunts, flips, twists and spins as they launch themselves from a 10-meter high-dive platform.

According to a press release from ABC, former Olympic diver Greg Louganis will give each celebrity weeks of training leading up to the competition. The celebrity dives are to be critiqued by London Olympic U.S. Gold medalist David Boudia and Australian Olympic athlete and USA Dive Team director, Steve Foley.

The new ABC series comes on the heels of a FOX special earlier this month that featured stars in a similar competition called Stars in Danger: The High Dive. Among the celebrities who participated in that low-rated special were The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars Kim and Kyle Richards. The sisters later spoke about how appearing on the show helped heal their troubled relationship.